Again
I have been on a writing hiatus (I think inconsistency is just my thing) and
now I have kind of started a whole new life or routine I guess I would say. As
of Saturday I moved up on top of the hill here in town and took a job as “The Dog
Lady” (I will explain).

Because
I disliked my job and needed something different than I had ever done before I
started searching for jobs and found nothing that was worth leaving the then
current job for. At Christmas time I had my puppy stay with a woman (The Dog
Lady) who runs a dog kenneling business out of her house and the dogs basically
get to sleep on the couch and do whatever they would do at home. When we came
back I let The Dog Lady know that if she ever needed any help I was around. And
the rest is history, I quit my job, and moved up to this lovely A-Frame house
at the end of the road where eagles pass by all the time and the dogs run free.

So I am The (new) Dog Lady until May (the real Dog Lady took her five cocker spaniels and is driving to Mexico and then up to Oregon for vacation) and right now the pups are fast asleepish (they’re both labs so if the fridge opens they’re up) after a nice run at the beach this morning. So far we only have one friend here at Dog Camp, Allie, a senior chocolate lab who runs like a puppy, and my dog Blue, a 6 month old lab mix.

Sleeping pups

Ironically on Valentine’s Day/Valentine’s Day weekend I will have five dogs here (including Blue) so I am guessing my boyfriend and I are not going to spend much time celebrating. Also, speaking of Valentine’s Day…if you have a dirty mind and like disgusting humor like me (sorry mom) you should definitely watch the Valentime’s (yes I spelled that right) Day special of the Netflix show Big Mouth….also watch Russian Doll…SO GOOD…but I’m etting off track.

I’m
really hoping that this time up on the hill, alone (the boyfriend is still
staying in our apartment), with a bunch of dogs, will give me the chance to
reflect and gather my thoughts about what I have been doing career wise. I have
a Bachelor’s in psychology and have attempted to get my Master’s degree in two
different areas and then started a new Bachelor’s and none of it felt right.

I have been a dance teacher, a mental health
associate, a cleaner, a bartender, a youth specialist, a barista, a community
prevention specialist (drugs and alcohol), a factory worker and probably some
other things I can’t remember. Point being, I have had many different jobs and
not really been in love with one particular thing. I know one thing I do know
now, people, I want to help people, but my introvert tendencies (Holla at me
introverts) and my dance with anxiety/depression make any mental health career
or “helping” career absolutely unbearable. So at least I can cross that career
off the list. But otherwise, I am not sure what I want my life to look like and
I am not a goal setter. The goals that I have set have seemed to magically
fulfill themselves; For instance, I remember during college wanting to travel
so badly and since then I have lived in Oregon (traveled cross country in the
car) and now I am in Alaska and have traveled back to Oregon several times
since. It’s only two states but when you are from New York Oregon and Alaska
are like whole different countries.